In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Hardeeville Elementary School students learn how he made an impact during the civil rights movement.

Special education teacher Jane Smart taught a group of her students the history of King through the book, “My Brother Martin: A Sister Remembers Growing Up with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.”

Through a guided-reading activity, students read parts of the book and discussed the life of King as a child.

“He stood up for what was right and against hatred,” student Rasheem King said. “We had a free country and he made laws more fair.”

Written by Christine King Farris, the book shares the memories of growing up with her brother “M.L.” and the pranks he pulled. “The book shares the history from a different perspective,” Smart said. “It’s really good for kids because it shares how Martin Luther King was as a child unlike other books that share his adult life.”

Growing up in the 1930s when white and black children could not play together, Martin Luther King, Jr. was shaped into an individual who wanted to make a difference in the world.

With a family of ministers, King also became a clergyman.

As a prominent leader in the civil rights movement, King, Jr. led the Montgomery Bus Boycott and founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

In 1965, he led the march to Washington and delivered his “I have a dream” speech. Receiving the Nobel Peace Prize a year later, King was recognized as one of the nation’s greatest orators.

On Monday, not only will the Hardeeville Elementary School students acknowledge the impact King made, but the nation will remember.

“What would Martin Luther King think today if he knew he had a national holiday?” Smart asked the students. “In a video we watched, his sister said that he would like it, but he would be very humble.”

Sharing their favorite part of the book, student JaShaun Jenkins said he liked that Martin Luther King, Jr. wanted to turn the world upside down.

“He stood for dignity, social justice and human rights,” Rasheem King said.

On a board outside the classroom, students had the opportunity to display their best work from their guided-reading activity.

Principal Rechel Anderson wants the students’ nice, neat work displayed and they compete to see whose work makes it to the board, Smart said.

“Every month we have a board to show what happens in that month. Since Martin Luther King’s birthday is this month, we have his picture along with other facts about January,” she said.

In 1986, the first MLK Day was celebrated as a federal holiday. Monday marks 27 years of honoring a man, who in his short life, helped fight for equality and social justice.